National Minimum Wage

The National Minimum Wage is an important cornerstone of Government strategy aimed at providing employees with decent minimum standards and fairness in the workplace. It applies to nearly all workers and sets hourly rates below which pay must not be allowed to fall.

The National Minimum Wage helps small businesses by ensuring that companies will be able to compete on the basis of quality of the goods and services that they provide and not on low prices based predominantly on low rates of pay.

National Minimum Wage rates are based on the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission, and independent body established as a result of the National Minimum wage Act 1998. The Low Pay Commission advise the Government about the minimum wage and the Government set the rates.

The National Minimum Wage rate last increased on the 1st of October 2012. For a complete record of past rates see the the business advice article titled National Minimum Wage: Historical Rates which traces the changes to minimum wage rates since their introduction in 1999 (Includes and catalogues the changes to the adult and development rate bands and the introduction of the 16-17 year old rates and the apprentice rate).